What Do You Give a Toddler for Vomiting & Diarrhea?

When a young child is vomiting and has diarrhea it can be frightening. As a parent, you want to ease your child's suffering, and a few guidelines can help you treat your child's symptoms.

Treatment While Vomiting

• While your child is vomiting, don't give him any food or water. Instead, administer electrolyte solution. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests giving a 26-pound child 44oz., a 33-pound child 51oz. and a 40-pound child 61oz in 24 hours.

After Vomiting Has Stopped

• Once vomiting stops, slowly reintroduce mild foods such as applesauce, pears, bananas and gelatin. You should not have to withhold food for more than 24 hours.

When to Call a Doctor

• Call a doctor if fever or vomiting lasts more than 24 hours or if your child refuses all food and liquid, including the electrolyte solution. If he has a swollen abdomen, abdominal pain, a rash or yellowing of the skin or eyes, call a pediatrician. Call a doctor immediately or take your child to the emergency room if he develops signs of dehydration.

Signs of Mild Dehydration

• A child who is mildly dehydrated urinates less, sheds few or no tears while crying and can have a sunken or soft spot on the top of his head.

Signs of Severe Dehydration

• Severe dehydration also makes a child cranky and sleepy, and he may suffer from sunken eyes, wrinkled skin and discolored hands and feet and may urinate only once or twice in 24 hours.

Warning

• Do not give over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medication to children under the age of 2 and be cautious about giving it to children older than that, as well. This medication can aggravate the intestine further and does not prevent dehydration, though it can mask symptoms of dehydration.